UPA working for 'khaas aadmi', says CPI-M

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has forgotten its electoral promise and is working hard for 'khaas aadmi' (special people) instead of 'aam aadmi' (the common man), said senior Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Brinda Karat.

"The Left parties would launch a nation-wide stir with a mass convention in New Delhi on Aug 26, demanding food for all and adequate food security for people living below the poverty line, " the CPI-M politburo member said here Saturday evening.

Karat and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, who too is CPI-M politburo member, with other senior party leaders addressed the nineteenth central conference of Tripura Rajya Upajati Ganamukti Parishad, the frontal tribal organisation of the CPI-M.

Brinda Karat said: "The increase in the prices of essential commodities, particularly of food items, has become unbearable especially for the poor and the common people who can no longer afford the essential commodities, while the UPA government remained quiet and sincere towards the interest of the millionaires."

Referring to the Maoist violence in Lalgarh in West Bengal, Karat said nobody would succeed in eliminating the CPI-M by violent means and the party flag would continue to fly high.

Karat said Tripura had topped the Indian states in handing over ownership rights of forest lands to tribal people.

"After the enactment of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (recognition of forest rights) Act, 2005, by the central government, 2.1 million tribal people across the country sought 'patta' (title deeds) of the forest land on which they had been residing for years," she said.

"But so far 400,000 tribals got it, while a tiny state like Tripura has provided 'patta' to 78,000 tribals," she added.

Addressing the gathering, Manik Sarkar said: "Taking advantage of the lesser strength of the Left parties in parliament, the UPA government is depriving the poor people."

"Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has sought our support to jointly categorise the system of identifying the below poverty line (BPL) category families as the UPA government is wrongly classifying them," Sarkar added.

The chief minister asserted that "the people would soon revolt against the anti-people stand of the centre for their survival."

"The centre has enacted a food security bill only to deprive the poor people of food protection."

The Marxist leader said that a small section of people got carried away and did not vote for the Left parties but their mindset would soon change against the Congress and the UPA government.

Referring to West Bengal politics, the Tripura chief minister said a deep-rooted conspiracy had been hatched involving the Raj Bhavan and others to destabilise the Left Front government in the state.

"The Left movement in Bengal and across the country are mature enough and have full strength to tackle the Maoist hostilities and the associated enmity in (West) Bengal," Sarkar told the gathering.